Adventures of Blustery and the Tomboy
by Royal Kitten
Summary: Semi-humorous Nanami&Luc, if you didn't guess by the title. On the way back from dealing with the pruny old vampire, mishaps ensue, and two dissimilar people are made to help each other and reach understandings. work-in-progress.
1. Chapter 1

(Disclaim, Disclam, Disclaim. Konami owns it all. So don't sue me.)

-One-

They were on thier way back from the whole fiasco reguarding Neclord. Riou wouldn't use the Blinking Mirror just yet, wanting to walk back through the villages along the way to check on the people within. Zombies running around made it difficult to offer reassurance; for even though Neclord had been dealt with... how could you be so sure of 'killing' something like that? Anyone unable to see the final blow would have doubts.

The necessary people in the party were alright with walking back. Viktor need the time to cool off, Flik and Nanami agreed they should assure the villagers in Drakemouth and Tigermouth their zombie worries were over. Sierra just tittered about it with a faint smile, seeming she wouldn't mind walking in close proximity to the Blue Lightning. Luc shrugged wordlessly, as usual.

So conversations struck up as they walked the mountain path, in no great hurry this time.

Sierra sauntered over to Flik, eyes gleaming mischievously. "So, how's your new little lady-friend. What's her name, oh... Niii-naaa?" Her teasing, sing-song tone made Flik blank. "Oh. You... heard about that, did you?" The vampiress chuckled. "It's pretty common gossip now, you know. I didn't have to listen very hard."

Viktor was in one of those quiet, moody drop-offs of his, which made Flik worry. Though occupied as he was, he cast a concerned glance to the young Lord, then to his best friend. Riou took the hint, poking the man-bear gently with an elbow. A sardonic grin crossed the Bright Shield bearer's face and he said quietly "Viktor, you're beginning to scare me, acting like 'blustery' back there. What's on your mind?"

Snapping-to, Viktor plastered a toothy grin on his face. "AHAHA, nothin' you need to really worry about." He used a less boisterous tone. "Just thinkin' about old times. 'Bout this sword, Neclord. People he took." The grin crept back on. "Nice to finally have some revenge, you know?"

Riou blinked. He wasn't the wrathful type, but he tried to sympathize. "It must take a lot off your shoulders." Viktor nodded. "Now what to do with this nagging old SWORD!"

Seeing as how everyone else was engaged in conversation, Nanami looked over her options. She could go listen in on Viktor and her brother... Glancing at Flik and Sierra, she already knew she didn't want to try that route. If it was making the blue-clad swordsman blush so furiously, she probably didn't want to know. She glanced at the other party member, who was lagging slightly behind the group, just staring off into the valley below them. She had no idea how to start a conversation with Luc. Looking back to her brother, they seemed to be talking important things. It wasn't a good idea to interrupt when Viktor looked that serious. Nanami sighed. She wanted someone to talk to. She resigned herself to whatever grim fate was about to befall her with her best smile, dropping back to match the mage's pace.

"Ummm... so..." Nanami struggled with something to start on. Luc wasn't paying attention. "Why didn't you just, you know, 'port back to the castle?"

Luc finally turned his forest-hued gaze toward her. "Huh?" He shrugged. "To do what, stand in the noisy foyer, guarding the Tablet of Promise? The scenery, _despite the company_, is rather refreshing."

Nanami gave an agreeing shrug. He did have a valid point, though she caught the slight on her trying to talk to him. It didn't faze her.

"You like going for walks outside. So, why don't you more often? Northwind actually has a lot of pretty scenery, _if you haven't noticed_." There, have that attitude back.

The apprentice quirked a brow at her. "That's not what I was sent for, was it? Unlike most of you, I don't get to just lay around and party between major battles..." He looked off into the distance again. Nanami rocked her head back and forth, sticking her tongue out like a child mocking at the turned back of a parent. "So, why do you have to stand there? It's not like someone's going to pick up a big stone slab and just walk off with it. I'm sure you could go do things, if you wanted to."

The mage, still looking off somewhere else, shrugged. "Maybe I don't want to."

Nanami rolled her eyes. Now he was being contradicting. She could remember when Jowy got that way sometimes. Riou was too gentle to ever set him straight; that always fell on Nanami.

She pursed her lips, up to the challenge.

"SO. You are walking with us WHY?"

The mage cast her a glare, raising his hand slightly as if about to use his rune. Though it wasn't what he used to teleport, it was for added effect. "I could always fix that, and teleport back; since it seems to bother you so much."

Nanami shrugged, adopting a scolding tone. Jowy would try this too, acting like he was going to walk away from the correction. She would act like she didn't care, and he would fall right into the palm of her hand.

"You certainly can. I'm just saying the reason you gave for staying along on this walk doesn't seem like the truth, since you evedently don't like doing anything other than standing with your back against an _unmoving stone _like it's going to slide out the door." Oooh, that sounded good.

Luc furrowed his brows at her. "What do you care?" He never would understand people... "It's not as if I'm in _your_ way, while y-"

"HEY. Some help here would be nice!" Viktor shouted.

Unbeknown to the two, a pack of Killer Dogs had approached the rest of the party.

"Problems of my own, thanks!" Nanami retorted, making a motion at the other beasts coming up behind them. She stood in her peculiar ready-stance. Luc's rune flashed to life, he mouthed the words of a spell.

"I'll get rid of these. You take the ones on the other side." The mage directed toward the bunch behind them. Nanami turned to give a beating to the ones attacking Riou from the side. The two were nearly standing with their backs against each others'.

"Wind!" The familiar roar of Luc's tornado filled thier ears. The air attack successfully sent most of the monsters careening off the edge of the ridge where they walked, off into the valley.

Nanami was busy knocking the others around, dealing out bone-crushing damage.

One managed to evade being swiped off the mountain by Luc's wind magic, and rushed forward to attack. The mage readied another spell, bracing for what he knew was coming.

The creature nailed him head-on in the chest, raking a claw across as it knocked him down and used the momentum in reverse to bounce away a step, assessing its next move. Luc pulled himself to a knee, letting go of the fully charged attack spell, and catching his breath, as the Dog loosed its last.

Nanami was tiring out, now beaten and bleeding in a few places herself. She jumped back a bit, standing where she and the mage had started. "Luc. A healing spell?" She felt a cold sweat roll down the back of her neck as the creature she had just attacked charged at her to exact its revenge. "Now?!"

Too late. It jumped through the air, using its head as a battering ram. An array of colors flashed in Nanami's eyes. Crushing pain seared in her head as she felt herself falling...

and falling... Her eyes snapped open. Rocky earth rushed by her. She looked down. The valley was far below, yet rushing up quickly to meet her. She would have cried. This was the end. Nobody could survive this long of a fall...

"Nanamiii!" A voice just above her yelled. She saw Luc, trying to grab her as he too plummeted through the air. Thrusting an arm out, she managed to lock a hand around his wrist.

The feeling of the air being forced from her lungs by the complete, smothering darkness around them made her wonder for an instant if she had died. Though that instant was all she had to consider. Light returned to everything, and color splashed once more inside her head as she landed hard on her back... not nearly as hard as she had expected.

Her eyes fluttered open. She was alive! A noise from nearby made her move her head, which hurt fiercely and set little sparkles of light off in her vision. Luc lay just beside her, face down, moving slowly to rise.

"Ohhhh." She groaned, trying to sit up. Not quite yet. "We made it. How? It looked like a death-drop." Nanami mused aloud. She didn't expect the strained answer.

"It- it was teleportation.. It's all I could do... that quickly." He drew in a hissing breath "but, it looks like... it stopped us before terminal velocity."

Nanami didn't know the words, but she got the idea. He'd teleported them through some of the drop, so they didn't _actually_ fall the whole distance. Wow.

She felt minimally better, and sat up, holding her head. "That's pretty good thinking."

Glancing at the mage, she noticed he was sitting too, though slumped over and holding an arm around his middle. "What's wrong?"

He looked up, moving his arm aside to show the large gash from the attacking beast. A weak chuckle came as he held his arm back over it, applying pressure to slow the loss of blood. "Didn't get them all." He remarked, wincing at the effort of speaking.

Nanami's face showed concern. "Can't you heal it?" She felt a slight pang of guilt, even though the mage had told her to turn her back on him. She knew he wasn't very durable.

"I'm afriad if I did... I wouldn't have the strength for much else." He remarked, "You seem to be in need as well." He nodded to her wounds, though none of them were as serious, they were more numerous.

"Well... what about 'porting us back? Or to a town?" She suggested, slumping as Luc shook his head in reply. "Hmmm.. Then I guess we stay here, until you can. At least, you should make that stop bleeding, or you'll never recover any." She nodded to the arm pressed against his torso, the sleeve of which was becoming red-soaked. "I'll keep a look out, while you rest. Deal?" Even though she felt so tired, and wanted to just hide her head and sink into comfortable darkness...

"I don't know.." the mage said horsely. "You may have a concussion. Someone will have to make sure... you stay awake. I'll be fine... if I can just be still for a little while."

So stubborn... "Fine. If that will work. But I don't think I have a... cussing, or whatever."

(Heh. Cussing. Hopefully no one will want to be doing any of that after reading. But tell me what you think so far, reguardless. I'd appreciate it; and thanks for reading. -CP-)


	2. Chapter 2

(Again, Konami owns the characters and whatnot.)

-Two-

The two had been sitting for a little while. The evening was turning to night quickly as the sun hid behind the mountains. Nanami thought about gathering wood for a fire, but as she started to move, the valley scenery started to waver and she promptly sat down again. She glanced to the mage, noticing a faint glow from the wind rune he used. Nanami didn't think she heard him say the words for a healing spell...

"So, do you think they're looking for us?" Nanami finally asked, piercing the silence that had settled over them.

"I'm sure they're looking for _you_." Luc replied in his usual dour attitude, obviously starting to feel more invigorated.

Nanami frowned. "You know, you don't have to be like that."

"Like what?" The mage shot her a curious look. He'd heard it all before.

"Well, so... grouchy. You're always snappy, even if someone's just asking you an honest question. Nobody even goes to look at that Tablet, because you glare at them and say 'what do you want?' like you're going to bite them."

Luc smiled a little to himself. "Who knows, maybe I would. I get tired of people asking me dumb questions just because I'm the apprentice to a very powerful Seer. It's not like _I'm _clairvoyant. All Lady Leknaat told me to do was help, and watch. Not say whether every bum you guys drag in is a Star of Destiny."

"I don't understand why you couldn't try to enjoy yourself anyway. Talk to people. Do something to pass the time.." Nanami shrugged, feeling the lightheadedness starting to fade. "Like sort of a vacation from that Magician's Island."

Luc gave her an look that clearly stated he couldn't believe what she was saying. Nanami, of course, couldn't think of any reason that sounded so crazy.

"You think a war is a vacation? People are dying. Lots of people. It's no time to take up a hobby and socialize. I don't know why you can't be more serious about what's going on..."

Nanami blinked. She was having her argument turned around on her! Oh, no. That was not happening.

"Why should I? It's not like I started this war, and I'm not going to finish it! This whole war is just like a big river, sweeping things away with it. I guess that river is fate. There's nothing I should worry about, aside from the people dear to me."

Luc growled, eyes flashing before he looked away. He'd heard someone using fate to try to excuse life's injustices rather than take up the responsibility of fixing them...

The same person that had overthrown a tyrannical Emperor, and then promptly ran off and left the chore to clean up the mess in the hands of the people that had supported him the whole way.

"Just shut the hell up, Nanami. You don't even know what you're talking about. People can change fate, no matter how grim it looks... Build a dam." He turned his back to her, determined not to hear another word. Just the thought of the Toran hero brought a rush of anger over him.

Nanami's eyes widened. She knew Luc to get snarky, but not this much.

"Well, sooo-ryyy! Didn't mean to get you all flustered. Not everybody can just blow two whole battalions of troops right off the battlefield, or 'build a dam'. Most people can't do anything about the war. Not without a... heeeeeyyyy..."

Nanami was just now catching an inkling of something people had no doubtful been drawing conclusions on since the epic battle against Luca Blight's outnumbering forces. Luc _had _seemed oddly anxious to fight then, once that Harmonian bishop was mentioned.

"YOU-"

"Just, stop. Stop right there, Nanami." He sounded alot calmer, colder though. It almost made Nanami scared. "No more. It's none of your business." Luc groaned slightly as he got to his feet, searching around for wherever his staff may have fallen.

"I think it's time we took our leave of this place. First, I have to find my staff."

Nanami was thrown off by the sudden change of subject. "Ummm, why? I'm sure we can just get you another one back at Northwind... It's not like it was anything really great anyway. I lost mine too."

Luc glared daggers at her again. "That staff is what I use to focus spell energy. Without it, I can't teleport us more than a short walking distance at a time. It's actually very important, in other words. So get to looking."

Again, Nanami waggled her tongue at the mage's turned back. She slowly stood, feeling slightly dizzy still. It was nearly dark, and this staff among the valley floor was going to be difficult to spot. The normally energetic girl sighed long and loud, causing Luc to glance back in annoyance.

"OHMYGOD EWWWW!" Nanami had found the maimed body of one of thier former attackers before anything resembling Luc's lost weapon. "Damn THING!"

"SHHH!" Luc hissed. "Do you want every monster within this valley to come running? Stop screaming!"

Nanami shuddered. "I can't help it, that's just disgusting."

Luc blanked, staring at her a moment. "That's nothing."

Nanami thought for a moment, catching the mage's meaning. Her mind slipped back to the little town Pilika was from, to the old Mercenary Fort, various other atrocities came to mind.

"You know... I asked Riou if he would just give it all up, and run away to lead a normal life. I feel so stupid for doing that now. It wasn't my right to try to convince him."

She shut her eyes, feeling them sting and cloud with tears.

"You're completely right, Luc. People that have the power to change things should. If just for the sake of the people who can't."

"Nanami." The fact his voice wasn't chiding at all for once made her look at him. "I said anyone can change fate, True Rune or not. You're changing it now, whether you think so or not. You're giving Lord Riou the courage and support he needs to shoulder the responsibility. In a way, you're helping him carry it." That rare touching moment promptly ended as the mage adopted his usual range of expression again.

"So, don't get all weepy. I think you're the only girl I've seen that doesn't cry about everything... Don't start now."

At that, she couldn't help laughing. "I'll take that as a compliment."

(Less action, more talk. Sorry ;)


End file.
